Terms of Business
With effect from 31st January 2013 the Terms of Work on which Barristers offer their Services to Solicitors and the Withdrawal of Credit Scheme 1988 are to be abolished and replaced by The (new) Standard Contractual Terms for the Supply of Legal Services by Barristers to Authorised Persons 2012.
The new Terms will be adopted by all members of Old Square Chambers in respect of all instructions accepted after 30th January 2013, both for new instructions and for matters in which Counsel has been instructed previously.
We appreciate that the standard payment terms (clause 12.4) may not be appropriate to all our clients. As such, we welcome the opportunity to enter into Service Level Agreements, as we have already with many of our clients. In addition to governing payment terms to suit your specific requirements, a protocol could be agreed in respect of rates, quality standards and additional services. Please do not hesitate to contact the Senior Clerk, William Meade should this be of interest to you.
All time spent is recorded on the LEXDiary Management System to ensure that the fees charged can be substantiated by specific work activities by the barrister. If requested, the Clerks will be able to explain further how the eventual fee was arrived at. We will render a fee note for all our work in line with the Bar Council's Standard Contractual Terms - http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/. On privately funded cases, we expect our fees to be settled within 30 days of you receiving our invoice. You are asked to contact us should this not be acceptable to you.
We adhere to the Bar Council's Code of Practice in respect of issue of payment reminders, progressing payment of our fees and credit control in general. Any solicitor who's name appears on the List of Defaulting Solicitors and other Authorised Persons will be expected to pay any outstanding fees within 7 days. Further instructions will not be accepted unless the work is legally aided or advance payment is received.
Court Hearings
The basis for fees to be charged will be agreed in advance of the hearing. Fees for court work take into account the following factors:
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Estimated time required for preparation;
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Estimated time to be spent in Court;
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Case complexity;
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The amount / issues at stake;
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Seniority of the barrister, whether an abnormal workload was placed on the barrister through late instruction / urgency of the work etc. The degree to which specialist knowledge is required and travelling / expenses likely to be incurred.
Paperwork
Normally fees for paperwork are not agreed in advance, however, if an estimate is required, the clerks (in liaison with the barrister concerned, if necessary) will provide an approximate fee. The following factors are taken into account when providing such estimates and when compiling the fee-note:
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Total time taken to complete the work;
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Complexity of the matter;
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The amount / issues at stake;
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Seniority of the barrister;
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The urgency of the work;
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The degree to which specialist knowledge is required.
Conferences
Estimated time required plus travel expenses.
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